The Longwood University community is celebrating the inauguration of President Finnegan with a week of service projects both off and on campus.

As part of “Longwood Gives Back: A Day of Service and Picnic,” Longwood students, faculty and staff will pitch in and perform various tasks at 10 community agencies and nonprofit organizations, as well as for several offices on campus. Members of the university community also can donate items to three of the local agencies with which Longwood is partnering.

“It's a whole week of service,” said Jen Rentschler, associate director for leadership and civic engagement, who is co-chairing Longwood Gives Back with Susan Sullivan, director of the student union and involvement.

The off-campus community partners are STEPS, Habitat for Humanity, the YMCA, Madeline's House, New Creations Day Care Child Learning Center, the Pregnancy Support Center, FACES, Virginia Blood Services, the SPCA, and Farmville United Methodist Church. On-campus partnerships include environmental health and safety, the grounds crew, and the sustainability office.

Longwood Gives Back: A Day of Service and Picnic will culminate that Thursday, Oct. 20, with a picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Lankford Mall. There will be student performances during the picnic, which is free to faculty, staff and students with a Longwood ID.

“President and Mrs. Finnegan wanted the inauguration to be both on-campus and off-campus, so we're giving back to the Longwood community and to our Farmville community,” Sullivan said.

To commemorate the event, a special volunteer lapel pin will be available to all of who who have participated in one of the service projects. After the service projects are done, the volunteers will be able to “reflect on their experiences by writing a message on the reflection board and-or signing the reflection journal when they pick up their pin,” Rentschler said.